confidential
Americanadjective
-
spoken, written, acted on, etc., in strict privacy or secrecy; secret.
a confidential remark.
- Synonyms:
- private, restricted
-
indicating confidence or intimacy; imparting private matters.
a confidential tone of voice.
-
having another's trust or confidence; entrusted with secrets or private affairs.
a confidential secretary.
- Synonyms:
- private, trustworthy
-
(of information, a document, etc.)
-
bearing the classification confidential, usually being above restricted and below secret.
-
limited to persons authorized to use information, documents, etc., so classified.
-
adjective
-
spoken, written, or given in confidence; secret; private
-
entrusted with another's confidence or secret affairs
a confidential secretary
-
suggestive of or denoting intimacy
a confidential approach
Synonym Usage
See familiar.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of confidential
First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin confīdenti(a) confidence + -al 1
Explanation
If you get a letter stamped confidential, that means you're not supposed to tell anyone else what it says. It's private and you're not supposed to blab about it. Confidential suggests that you're being let in on a secret — as in Kitchen Confidential, the title of a book by Anthony Bourdain, a famous chef, in which he tells unappetizing stories about the restaurant industry. If you confide in someone, you are trusting him or her with confidential or secret information. Choose your confidants wisely!
Vocabulary lists containing confidential
Nothing But the Truth
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"The Censors," Vocabulary from the short story
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Guts
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But it’s also true that hackers will often keep information confidential pending the outcome of a ransom demand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Plus, Ukraine said new limits on Starlink have disrupted its military operations, and OpenAI alleged an ex-employee took confidential files to Apple.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
In September, private-equity firm TPG filed a confidential application to list hospital assets valued at close to $8.0 billion in Malaysia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
He told the inquiry his information came from a pool of confidential sources who he would not be naming, and including senior figures within the RUC and in the Republic of Ireland.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
The Priestley letter was “a confidential communication” that was “never meant to trouble the public mind.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
